


Best Friends Forever

by LeelaSmall



Category: The Amazing World of Gumball
Genre: Canon Het Relationship, F/M, First Meetings, Friends to Lovers, Labor-induced fits of rage, Marriage, Pregnancy, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 06:30:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21239714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeelaSmall/pseuds/LeelaSmall
Summary: We all know Nicole and Richard love each other to pieces, but how did they ever meet? And how did they become the loving couple they are today? This fic will show just that, from the moment they met as kids to how they are right now. [Original publish date: May 16, 2013]





	1. The Encounter

The sun was shining bright in the blue cloudless sky as the red minivan made itself through the suburban roads of the little town of Elmore. In a normal day it would've been heading towards the city, but today its destination was different.

The vehicle finally came to a stop once it found itself right in front of the main entrance to Elmore Junior High. The door on the passenger's side opened and a little pink rabbit emerged. He didn't look a day over twelve and once he saw the building in front of him he started trembling. The door on the driver's side opened and out came a very-soon-to-be-middle-aged pink rabbit, who didn't look too pleased with the little one's reaction.

"You're gonna have to go in sometime, you know?" said the oldest of the two. The young rabbit gulped.

"But I don't want to…" he said, feeling more terrified with every second he stood there. The older one sighed.

"Richard, you don't have any reason to be acting that way. It's just junior high!"

"But I heard junior high kids are mean! Especially with new people! I don't wanna go, mom!"

The bunny mom sighed. She really didn't have time for that. She had to be at work in twenty minutes or else her boss wouldn't let her hear the end of it. She knelt down in front of her nervous son.

"Look, dear…" she started, trying to find the right words. "You have nothing to worry about. You're not a little baby bunny anymore. You're a big boy now! I know you'll be just fine."

"You really think so?" asked Richard, starting to feel a little less afraid.

"I know so." She opened her purse. "But if by any chance you feel like you you're not strong enough to make it through the day on your own…" she dipped her hand inside her purse. "…I want you to use this." She pulled out a lavender blanket and handed it to her son, who accepted it looking slightly confused.

"My Cottontail Cavalier cape? But you said pretending to be a superhero was stupid."

"I do. But if it means it'll make you happy… I guess it's worth it."

Richard smiled from ear to ear and hugged his mom tight. Josephine returned the hug, and although she would never admit it, she felt herself tear up. Even though she always tried to look tough, she couldn't help it. Her little boy was growing up and she had to let him start fighting his own battles. She quickly wiped away her tears and looked her son right in the eyes with a reassuring smile.

"Good luck, honey."

"Thanks, mom!" Richard gave his mom a peck on the cheek and scurried inside, holding onto his beloved "cape". Josephine stood there for a few more seconds staring at the building entrance and smiling to herself. As she started to feel the tears emerge again she got into her car and drove off.

As soon as Richard entered his new school he was washed over by a sense of amazement and wonder. The school was a whimsy of the most varied species of students and staff, some of which he had never seen before in his life. As he started to walk down the hall he passed a banana, a peanut with antlers, a potato with glasses, a fingerprint guy, a rainbow girl and a cloud guy, amongst some other things he couldn't really identify. He was so absorbed by his surroundings that he unknowingly bumped into a hard and rough surface. When he looked up his face froze in pure terror.

He had just bumped into a T-Rex.

The giant lizard turned around and looked down at him. He didn't look too pleased.

"Well well, look what we've got here… Fresh meat." he was salivating. Richard took a few steps back.

"I-I'm sorry… I-I didn't mean to –" he was cut off when the terrifying beast stomped his giant foot in front of him, sending shivers down his spine.

"You're not going anywhere!" he growled, moving his over-sized head towards the terrified bunny. "I'm gonna show you what we do to newbies around here… especially newbies who mess with me!"

Richard closed his eyes in fear. He could feel his opponent breathing against his face, and he prepared himself for the worst.

"Hey Timmy!"

His eyes snapped open. The Rex had somewhat of a shocked look in his face, as if he recognized that voice. He turned around and Richard scooted a little to the right to see who was yelling at his assailant. They were both looking at a blue female kitten, who, despite her cheerleading-style attire and the pink bow on her head, had one of the most determined and unpleased expressions Richard had ever seen. The dinosaur gulped.

"Oh… it's you." He seemed a bit nervous. The kitten balled up her hands into fists and took a few steps forward.

"That's right, Timmy! And if you want to spare yourself from something like what happened last time, you better leave the kid alone!" she slammed her right fist into her left palm. Despite her slightly high-pitched voice, there was no doubt: she meant busyness. The Rex looked over at Richard again and groaned in annoyance.

"Fine…" he stomped past the young rabbit, but after a few steps he turned to him again. "You got lucky this time, but someday she won't be here to protect you. And when that day comes, I'll be there." He walked away with a bad mood. The kitten moved towards Richard.

"Don't mind Timmy Rex, he's just a big bully. My name's Nicole, by the way. What's yours?" she held out her paw to give Richard a handshake, but he didn't respond. He was staring at her, mesmerized by his savior. No girl had ever saved him before. Most guys would feel bummed out by it, but he just thought she was amazing. And pretty. "Earth to new kid!" he was brought back to reality as she snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Oh sorry!" he blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "What were you saying?"

"I asked you your name."

"Richard!" he shouted, not a second after she finished her sentence. "Richard Watterson! Nicole, right?"

"Uh huh." Suddenly the bell rang. "Oh, we're late for class! Come on!" she grabbed Richard's hand and they both started running towards the classroom, Richard blushing even harder than before. When they entered the classroom everybody was in their respective seats and the teacher stopped writing on the board has soon has the two youngsters came in.

"Well, if it isn't young Nicole, late as usual." Their teacher was a female baboon who looked as old as time itself. She moved towards the two kids and looked down at Nicole. "Nice attendance, LOSER!" Nicole hung her head in shame. Richard noticed a small tear fell from her eye. "Oh and look! You brought a friend! That's nice. Now take your seat!"

"Yes, Miss Simian." They both started walking towards the desks, but Richard was stopped by Miss Simian, who had grabbed his arm.

"Not you! You're new, and according to the school's regulations I have to introduce to the class." She dragged him to the front of the class. Nicole was already in her seat. "Everybody listen up!" the students turned their attention to their teacher. "You have a new classmate today. This is…" she checked the file on her desk "…Richard Watterson. Apparently he just moved here, so everybody be nice to him. Or at least not too mean."

He waved to the class but nobody did a thing. He just dropped his arm, but then he saw Nicole smiling at him and giving him an encouraging thumbs-up. He smiled back at her.

"OK, you can sit down now." Miss Simian turned back to the board and continued writing. "Now, as I was saying…"

Richard looked at the many desks in front of him, trying to find an empty one. Suddenly he noticed Nicole waving at him and pointing at an empty desk right next to her. Richard smiled and blushed slightly. No girl had ever wanted him to sit next to her. He carefully moved between everybody else's desks and sat on his new one.

"Hey there, neighbor!" Nicole greeted him. Richard smiled at her.

"Hey… Listen…" he tried to find the right words to talk to her "…I never thanked you for saving me back there…"

"It's OK, you don't have to. I just hated that Timmy was picking on you on your first day."

"Well, you were really brave! I've never seen anyone stand up to a T-Rex like that!"

"I'm used to his shenanigans. He's always picking on the weak and helpless. No offense!"

"None taken. I'm a coward!" Richard smiled and shrugged. Nicole giggled.

"You're funny!" she giggled some more, but then her smile slowly faded. "You know… I think you're the closest thing I've ever had to a friend…"

"You don't have any friends?" Richard asked, surprised. Nicole shook her head softly. She was now staring at her desk.

"Everybody feels intimidated by me. They think that, if I can take on a T-Rex and live to tell the story, I could just as easily hurt them." She sighed. Richard saw another tear roll down her cheek. He felt sorry for her.

"I'll be your friend!" he gave her an encouraging smile, which she saw when she looked up at him with a surprised look on her face.

"You… you will?" she asked, wiping her eye and smiling slightly.

"Sure! Better yet, I'll be your best friend!"

Nicole looked even more surprised now, and she did something Richard just wasn't expecting: she hugged him. She hugged him so tight he almost couldn't breathe. But he didn't mind. She needed that. He could feel it. When she let go her eyes were filled with tears and her smiled was so wide it almost seemed painful.

"You really mean it?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly.

"Mh-hm." He nodded. Then to further prove his point, he stuck out his pinky, slightly curved. Nicole just stared at it. "Best friends forever?"

When she realized what he was doing she smiled and crossed her pinky with his, sealing the pinky promise.

"Best friends forever."


	2. The Prom

Ever since that day Nicole and Richard became inseparable. Since they were the same age they had all the same classes together. They played together, they had lunch together… they put up with each other all the way through junior high and high school. Richard wasn't very bright, but Nicole was a straight-A student, so she helped him with his grades. And she defended him every time he was confronted by a bully. Most of his guy friends made fun of the fact that he was protected by a girl, but he didn't mind. She was his best friend, and that's all that mattered.

Although, at some point, Richard had started to have deeper feelings for Nicole. She had blossomed into a beautiful young lady, and that hadn't gone unnoticed by the rest of the males. She was asked out more than any other girl at school, and you can believe the other girls were jealous.

Now the prom was coming up, and date-hunting season had started. Nicole had already turned down almost every guy at school… except Richard. He had been mustering up the courage to ask her since the prom was announced. Finally he felt ready, and he was not going to waste this opportunity.

It was the week before prom and the two friends were having lunch together, across the table facing each other, like they always did. Richard was trying to find the right words to start with.

"So…prom's coming up!" he started, still thinking about what to say. "You got a date yet?"

"Nah…" Nicole said, her mouth half-full with the tuna sandwich she was having for lunch. "I didn't like any of the guys who've asked me so far…" she swallowed her chewed food. "You?"

"Uh… There's a girl I want to ask, but I'm not brave enough to…"

"Well you should! Who knows, maybe she's waiting on your invite! Do I know her?"

"You could say so…"

"Then go for it!"

"But what if she turns me down?"

"You don't know that! Go ahead and ask her! Maybe she'll surprise you with her answer!" she noticed how nervous he was, so she placed her hand on his, which was on the table. He looked into her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes. She had such a lovely gaze… a gaze that could calm down a raging bull. He gulped and decided to give it a shot.

"N-Nicole?" he asked in a nervous tone.

"Yes?" she asked, smiling brightly, which made him even more nervous.

"I-I…"

"Hey Nicole."

He was cut off by someone behind him. Judging by the depth of the person's voice, it was clearly a man. Whoever it was it had gained Nicole's full attention, making her eyes widen. When Richard turned around he saw a peanut with antlers holding a full lunch tray: it was Thomas "Tom" Fitzgerald, quarterback for the Elmore High football team.

"H-hi, Tom…" Nicole stuttered, much to Richard's surprise.

"Mind if I join you for lunch?"

"Not at all!" Nicole shouted, blushing and calming down almost instantly. "I-I mean, s-sure!"

Tom sat down next to Nicole and placed his tray in front of him.

Richard had never seen Nicole act like that. She was blushing and she looked like she couldn't hold back her smile. He knew what it meant. He acted the same way when he was around her.

"So listen…" Tom started, looking right into Nicole's eyes. "I don't have a date to the prom yet. So I was wondering if would you like to go with me."

"Really?!" she practically squealed that question. She cleared her throat. "I would love to!"

Richard felt his heart shatter when she said that. He had let his one chance slip right through his fingers, and now it was too late.

"Awesome! I'll pick you up at seven. See you then!" Tom grabbed his tray and got up to leave.

"Bye!" Nicole waved at him slowly, looking rather love-struck. As soon as he was out of hearing range, she turned to Richard. "Can you believe it? Tom asked me to the prom! Me!"

"I never thought you'd be the type of girl who was into jocks!" confessed Richard.

"Neither did I! But what are the odds of this happening?"

"I guess…" Richard was bummed. Now he would never be able to tell her how he felt.

"What's wrong?" Nicole asked, concerned.

"Nothing… Sorry, I gotta go…" he got up and left, leaving Nicole even more worried. She had never seen him act like this.

Richard decided he wasn't in the mood to go to any more classes, so he just walked home. His house was only a few miles away, and his mom wouldn't be home until five, so there was no problem. As soon as he got home he went straight up to his room and collapsed on his bed, the mattress screeching beneath his weight. He turned over and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, after which he reached under his bed to retrieve a small briefcase. He unlocked it and took out a small photo album. For years he had taken pictures of himself with Nicole, and this was the scrapbook he kept them in. He had pictures from junior high, their freshman year in high school, last year, this year, birthdays, Christmases, Halloweens, spring breaks and summer vacations. He had never bothered to count them, but they must've been way over fifty.

He locked up his book in the briefcase and hid it under his bed again. He was staring at the ceiling again, but now all the memories he had of the good times he had spent with Nicole were flashing through his mind. And he felt himself doze off… but he was abruptly awakened by the sound of a slamming door.

"Idiots! All IDIOTS!"

His mom was home, and she didn't sound too pleased. He got off his bed, exited his room and went downstairs, where she was throwing the contents of her briefcase onto the floor in fury.

"Mom?" he approached her carefully. "Are you OK?" When she saw her son she calmed down a bit.

"Yeah…" she panted "I'm fine…"

"What happened? What are you doing home so early?"

"I got into a fight with some of my coworkers. I decided to get out of there before I did something I would regret." Then she realized something. "Wait a minute… What are YOU doing home so early?"

"I… It's complicated…" he looked at the floor in sadness. Josephine could feel something was wrong with her son.

"Come on, son." She gently grabbed hold of his hand and started pulling him towards the couch. "Why don't you tell me all about what's bothering you." They both sat on the couch and Richard sighed.

"You see… there's this girl I like…" he started, trying to some up his worries into just a few words. "…and I'm not brave enough to tell her how I feel. I wanted to ask her to the prom, but… some guy beat me to it. And now I just don't know what to do…"

"Oh sweetie…" she gently rubbed his arm in consolation. "Don't be sad… There are plenty of other girls out there! You'll find the one for you…"

"But I don't want another girl… I want Nicole…"

"NICOLE?!" Josephine let go of her son's arm and looked at him in shock. "You like Nicole?!"

"Yeah…" he couldn't understand what his mother's problem was. "What about it?"

"I can't believe it! Of all the girls in the world, you had to go and fall for HER?!"

"What's wrong with her?"

"EVERYTHING!" Josephine got up and started pacing around the room. "She's pretentious, arrogant, she'll run over anyone just to get what she wants… and don't get me started on her fur color!"

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

Josephine stopped and stared at her son. Never in her life had she thought that her son would use that tone with her! He was now standing up, with pure rage reflected on his face.

"How dare you?" asked his mother in shock.

"No, how dare YOU!" replied the angry Richard. "You have no right to talk about her like that! Nicole is none of those things! She's smart, mature, beautiful, and tough as nails! Sure, her rage might get out of hand sometimes, but I put up with anyway! Know why? Because I LOVE HER!" he ran up the stairs to his room. "And just so you know, I think her fur color is PERFECT!" he slammed the door as hard as he could.

* * *

"Your date's here, sweetie!"

Nicole applied the finishing touches to her makeup as her mother entered her room. She was wearing a frilly violet ball gown, and although she didn't have hair, she had gotten a perm, which gave shoulder-length blue curly hair with bangs falling gently onto her forehead. It made her look somewhat younger. She turned to her mom and saw her eyes were sparkling.

"You look so beautiful…" she moved towards her daughter and held her in a tight hug, which she returned.

"Mom…" she whispered into her mom's ear.

"Yes, honey?" her parent let go of her and looked her in the eyes.

"Can you tell Tom to wait just a few more minutes? There's something I need to do before I go."

"Of course." She kissed her daughter's forehead and headed towards the door. "We'll be waiting for you downstairs." She gently closed the door behind her.

Nicole sat in front of her vanity mirror to examine herself for the last time. She had lost count of how many she had done that since she started getting ready. She would start checking how she was, but then mind would just end up drifting into thought.

Richard hadn't talked to her since the day Tom had asked her to be his date to the prom. It seemed like he was avoiding her. Every time she wanted to talk to him it seemed like he would pretend to be busy or walk away on purpose. She couldn't understand why he was doing that to her. Was it something she had done or said? Whatever it was, she didn't like it.

She still remembered the promise he had made her when they were twelve. 'Best friends forever', he said. Then why was he treating her like that? She felt so confused…

She could hear her parents and Tom laughing downstairs, no doubt at one of her dad's cheesy jokes. After one last fluff of her perm, she exited her room and headed downstairs. There her parents were joyfully talking to her date, who was wearing a suit and tie. As Nicole walked down the stairs, Tom noticed her and his eyes widened.

"Wow…" he let out involuntarily. "You look beautiful…"

"Thanks." Nicole gave him a weak smile.

"Picture!" exclaimed Nicole's dad, pointing the camera towards the two teenagers.

Tom placed his arm around Nicole's shoulders and smiled for the camera. Nicole had to force a grin out of her because she was still feeling down from the cold shoulder she was receiving from Richard. As soon as the camera snapped she was able to relax again.

"Well…" she turned to Tom. "…shall we?"

"Your chariot awaits." He opened the door for her and gestured so she would exit first. Tom had rented a limousine for the night, and as much as Nicole hated to admit it, she felt quite impressed by it. She opened the door and entered, Tom following right away.

* * *

When they arrived at the school they could hear the music pumping from inside the building. They made their way to the gym, and when they entered they could see that all the hard work the student board had had with the preparations had paid off: there were colorful ribbons tied to the top of the walls, a couple of tables covered by white tablecloths with snacks, drinks and plastic cups, plates and cutlery and balloons hanging from the walls. On the wall above the punch table hung a banner saying "Class of 1988". The music was loudly coming from speakers all around the well-lit room, and all the students were dancing with their respective dates. Miss Simian was chaperoning the prom, so she was standing by the punch table, looking around the room suspiciously.

Nicole looked around the room in search of Richard, but had no luck. She decided to walk through the crowd to get a more thorough look.

"I'LL GET US SOME PUNCH!" she shouted to Tom, covering her left hear to block out the loud music.

"OK! I'LL WAIT HERE!" he shouted back. Nicole made her way through the all the dancing couples, trying her best not bump into or be bumped by anyone. She made it to the punch table and poured herself a glass of the fruity liquid. After receiving another offensive remark from her old teacher, this time about her hair, she tried looking around for Richard again. She spotted him sitting at the bleachers, looking desolated. He was wearing a white dress-shirt with a brown tie, no doubt a clip-on, and brown khakis. She made her way towards him, again avoiding her dancing classmates, but when he noticed her he tried to make a run for it. This time she wasn't going to let him get away. She knew he couldn't run too fast, so she picked up the pace and was able block his passage.

"Richard!" she sounded a mother scolding her disruptive son. "What is going on?"

"Nothing…" he was avoiding looking in her in the eyes and she noticed that.

"What do you mean 'nothing'? You've been avoiding me all week! And I wanna know why!"

"I-I can't… tell you…"

"Why?" now she was getting worried.

"It's complicated…" he turned away from her, but she moved in front of him just as swiftly.

"Richard, look at me. Look at me!" she sounded angry again. He looked up at her from the corner of his eye, and saw how worried she really was. "Why are you doing this to me? You've never acted like this before! Why now?" he looked back down. She felt a lump growing in her throat and her eyes start to water up. "I thought we were best friends… forever…"

"We are…"

"THEN WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!" she was now shouting, her voice cracking under her desperation. Richard knew that tone. It was the tone he used when she was about to blow up in pure anger. He looked up at her again. She had her teeth clenched and tears were now rolling down her cheeks. He felt bad, but there was nothing he could do.

"It's too complicated. I'm sorry, Nicole." he turned around and ran off. She was about to chase him when she felt a hand on her shoulder, which made her jump a little. She turned around and saw Tom, who looked somewhat concerned.

"Hey, what's going on?" he was definitely concerned. Nicole could hear it in his voice. She wiped away the rest of her tears and tried her best to look OK. She wasn't gonna let Richard's little tantrum keep her from enjoying her night.

"It's nothing. Let's just dance."

Richard had run behind the punch table. He poked his head out to see if she had followed him, but when he saw her dancing happily with Tom, he felt even worse than before. He poured himself a glass of punch and drank it in just one sip. If only he had drunk it slower to notice that it tasted funny he would have spared himself from one of the greatest humiliations of his life…

Half-an-hour and twenty glasses of punch later, Richard could barely stand up. He was feeling dizzy, but he also felt more courageous somehow. He looked over to where Nicole and Tom were sitting on the bleachers, chatting while they rested their feet from all their dancing, and felt a mix of anger and determination take over his body. He threw his plastic onto the floor and crushed it with his foot, right before stomping towards his targets. He wobbled with every step he took, barely able to keep his balance, bumping into everyone in his path. When the cat and the peanut saw him coming, they were surprised to see the state he was in.

"Hey, nut face!" he was still wobbling, even while just standing, and slurring all his words. "I've got something to tell you!"

"Are you OK, bro?" Tom raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't look so good."

"I…I'm fine. Peachy!" he lost his balance but Nicole ran up and held him before he fell.

"What happened to you? Did you hit your head or something?" she was thankful she was strong enough to support his weight.

"I'm fine! Leave me be, woman!" he spat onto her face, and Nicole felt unmistakable smell of alcohol on his breath.

"Richard, have you been drinking?" she asked, worried.

"Just punch…" he tried to stand on his own. "Why?"

"THE PUNCH HAS BEEN SPIKED!"

Everybody stopped dancing and turned to the punch table, where Miss Simian had just had some of the party drink and discovered the gruesome fact.

"WHO DID THIS?!" roared the furious primate. Suddenly everybody heard an annoying laughter coming from the middle of the dance floor. They all turned to see a banana laughing its sides off.

"Banana Bob, I should've known!" Miss Simian walked to him and he immediately ceased his laughter. "Well guess what, smart guy: you've just earned yourself a month of detention. In the summer!"

Bob groaned and everybody laughed at him before returning to their dancing.

"Serves him right…" said Richard, almost falling over again, if Nicole wasn't there to hold him.

"I better take you to the infirmary." She tried to pull him towards the exit, but he didn't let her.

"No! I have something to say!" he regained his balance as best as he could and tipsily walked over to Tom, pointing a finger at him. "You see that beautiful woman over there?" he pointed towards Nicole. "I want you to treat her right! Like… like a goddess! Give her tulips every day! Those are her favorites. And… and take her out for chicken parmesan and… and buy her coffee with extra cream! Just the way she likes it. And most of all, treat her like she's the most important person in the world! Because…" he looked back at her and smiled. "…she deserves it. And much, much more."

Nicole covered her mouth with her hands in awe. She couldn't believe how many things Richard knew about her. They had been close friends since they were kids, but somehow that touched in a way she had never felt before.

"I'm out…" Richard stumbled out the gym door. Nicole remained motionless as Tom got up and approached her.

"That was weird…" he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "So… wanna dance?"

Nicole brushed off Tom's and ran out the door, leaving him trying to figure out what had just happened.

She ran through the school's main hall looking for him. He was nowhere to be seen, until she reached the main entrance and saw him bending over outside. She quickly ran up to him.

"Are you OK?" she placed her hand on his shoulder just as he was straightening up. He wiped up his mouth with the back of his hand and Nicole realized he had just vomited.

"Yeah… I guess." He stared at the floor with an upset expression. "I'm sorry I ruined your night…"

"You didn't ruin my night!" she replied softly, placing a finger under his chin to lift his head so he could see her. "You just… spiced up it a bit!" she smiled at him, which mace him smile too. "Did you really mean all those things about me?"

"Of course!" he placed both hands on her shoulders and looked as determined as he could. "You're special, Nicole. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"

That remark made her giggle. It also made her realize how special he was. He had always been there for her. He was her best friend. But now she felt that, somewhere along the line, that had evolved to into something more.

"Nicole?" he smiled lovingly at her.

"Yes?" she smiled lovingly back at him.

"Take me to the infirmary…"

He collapsed on the floor unconscious.

* * *

"He'll be fine. He just had a little too much to drink."

"Are you sure? What about that bruise on his head? Isn't that a concussion?"

"No, dear, that's just from when he fainted and hit his head."

Richard could hear the commotion around him. It was mostly Nicole and somebody else. Female, by the sound of it. He felt a pounding in his head, unsure if it was because he had hit it or if he was just hung-over, and his mouth tasted like vomit. Otherwise he felt fine.

"I have to go get some papers." Said the person whose voice Richard didn't recognize. "If he wakes up don't let him lift his head."

He heard the unknown female walk away, and could now realize he was lying down. When he opened his eyes he saw that he was in the infirmary, lying on the observation bed. Nicole was sitting beside him, staring at her hands on her lap with worry on her face. Richard tried to lift his head and groaned, which made her snap out of her thoughts. She immediately stood up and held him.

"You're awake! Oh, thank goodness!" she pushed his head back down. "The nurse says you mustn't lift your head. It took a big blow."

Richard reached for the sore spot on his head. He felt it was covered by a piece of gauze, held in place with some bandages. He gave a small press and cringed.

"Take it easy." She gently lowered his hand. "You've had quit a night."

"Yeah…" he felt remorse take over. "I'm so sorry Nicole… I completely ruined your night…"

"No you didn't, I already told you that!" she smiled at him. "You made it a night I'll never forget." He smiled back at her. "You know, what you said back there… was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. Why haven't you told me that before?"

"I'm a coward, Nicole. You should know that by now." his smile faded. "I just didn't have the guts to tell you how I really feel…"

"You can tell me now."

He looked her in the eyes. He could tell she was eager to know what his true feelings were. In that moment all of his insecurities disappeared. He was ready.

"I love you, Nicole. I've loved you since the day we met, and I've never stopped."

He braced himself for her reaction, thinking she was going to turn him down. He was surprised to see her smile grow wider.

"I've been waiting years to hear those words…" she held him in a tight embrace. "I love you too."

He was stunned at first, but then he allowed himself to smile and returned the hug. He could stay like that forever, just lying in her arms… but then he remembered something. He held Nicole´s shoulders and made her face him.

"But… if you do… why did you agree to be Tom's date?" he was a little confused by that fact.

"I didn't think you felt the same I did... and I was too afraid to ask you…" she blushed slightly.

"You? Afraid?" Richard was astonished. "You can take on a T-Rex, but you're too afraid to confess your feelings?"

"Hey I may be tough, but I'm still a girl!"

"True..." just then the nurse came in with a pile of papers in her arms.

"Oh, you're awake!" she said as she placed the papers in her desk.

Richard recognized that voice: it was the female that was in the room with Nicole before he regained consciousness. She was nothing but an over-grown Band-Aid in a nurse outfit. She opened a drawer in her desk and took out a little lantern, with which she examined Richard's eyes.

"Looks like you didn't suffer any traumas." she put away the lantern. "Do you feel bad in any way?"

"My head hurts." He rubbed his head. The nurse returned to her desk and opened the same drawer, this time retrieving a small box of pills. She took a pill out, picked up a bottle of water from her desk and handed them both to Richard.

"Here, take this. You'll feel better in a few minutes. Do you feel anything else?"

"No, that's it." Richard put the pill in his mouth and took a few sips of water to wash it down.

"Well then you can leave once you feel better. Just be more careful next time, OK?" Richard nodded. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm needed in the principal's office." She grabbed her papers again and left. Nicole placed her hand on Richard's.

"I really like you're outfit." She smiled, gazing tenderly into his eyes.

"Thanks. I'll try to wear it more often." He returned the smile and the gaze. "You look beautiful tonight, Nicole." She smiled and blushed. He took her hand in his and brought it closer to his face. "Nicole?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think we might have a shot at this dating thing?"

"I have no doubt about it." Richard's smile grew wider. Nicole looked over to the clock on the wall. "You know, prom doesn't end for another two hours. Wanna dance?"

Richard's smile grew even wider, and his eyes sparkled.

* * *

Tom sat at the bleachers, bored out of his mind. His date hadn't returned yet, and he was starting to wonder if she even would. His gaze drifted towards the gym entrance where he saw Nicole and Richard enter, hand in hand. He rushed up to the two, wondering what had happened to Richard's head to have gauze on one spot.

"There you are!" he tried to keep his cool. "I thought you'd never come back! Come on, let's dance!"

"Sorry, Tom." Nicole wrapped her arms around Richard's left arm. "Something happened, and, well…" she tried to find the right words not to hurt Tom's feelings. "…I'm with Richard now."

"You're… you're kidding, right?" Tom laughed nervously.

"I've never been more serious in my life." Nicole smiled lovingly at Richard, who did the same. She turned back to Tom. "I hope you understand." The two started to walk towards the dance floor, when Nicole felt something grasp her wrist tightly. She turned to see Tom, with an angered expression in his face.

"Where do you think you're going?" he lifted her hand up to his face to bring her closer, making her release Richard's arm. "You're my date! You're not going anywhere with him!"

"Let go of me!" Nicole tried to free herself from his grip, but he only tightened it more. Nicole started to get angry, but it was nothing compared to how angry Richard felt.

He felt the rage bubble inside him with an intensity he had never felt before, and he finally felt brave enough to do stick out for someone. He couldn't let that brutish peanut harm his lady. He clenched is hands into fists, walked up to Tom and threw a punch that struck him right between the eyes. Tom fell to the ground, letting go of Nicole's wrist in the process.

"Don't you ever come near her again!" Richard yelled at the dizzy peanut. He looked over at Nicole, who was rubbing her wrist and looking at him with a perplexed expression. "Are you OK?" Nicole smiled widely and threw herself into his arms.

"Richard, you did it!" she hugged him tight. "You found your courage!"

"I just couldn't let him hurt you." He smiled at her and she smiled back. She held his hand.

"Come, on. Let's dance."

They finally made it to the dance floor and started dancing to the rhythm of the pop/rock song that was currently playing. Nicole was by far a better dancer than Richard, but he was doing surprisingly well.

"YOU'RE PRETTY LIGHT ON YOUR FEET!" she yelled, doing her best to be heard over the loud music.

"THANKS! I'VE BEEN PRACTICING!"

As soon as he shouted out that reply a slow song started to play. They both stood still initially, observing all the other couples dancing romantically. Richard looked at Nicole, blushing and giggling nervously. Nicole smiled compassionately and grabbed his hands, placing them gently on her hips. The red on his cheeks increased as Nicole positioned her hands on his shoulders. She looked into his eyes and gave him a slight nod, which he understood as a sign to start moving his feet.

They swayed to the smooth groove of the music, gazing passionately into each other's eyes. Richard's heart pounded uncontrollably against his chest, and he couldn't get over how beautiful Nicole was, her blue eyes glistening under the lights. He took his hand up to her cheek, petting her soft blue fur with his thumb. He could feel her purr under his touch. He had never heard her purr before. It was charming.

As they fixed their eyes into each other even more, they felt some sort of magnetic force pulling them together. They slowly closed their eyes as their faces moved closer, their cheeks burning more and more intensely with every inch they grew nearer. When their lips made contact they felt like they were floating, and sparks flew everywhere. Nicole held the back of Richard's head to deepen the kiss and Richard held her back with the same purpose.

After a few seconds of pressing their lips together passionately, they broke the kiss and looked at each other lovingly. Nicole then wrapped her arms around Richard's torso and held him in a tight hug.

"I love you." She whispered into his hear. He smiled and returned the hug.

"I love you too."


	3. The Wedding

After graduation Nicole and Richard both took separate paths. Nicole went to college to major in Entrepreneurship, her dream degree. Richard had failed his SAT's, despite all the effort he made and all the help he got from Nicole, so he stayed home all day. Although Nicole was always busy with her college work, they saw each other every time they could. They spent their weekends together and he would pick her up at the end of the day to drive her home. Even though they barely spent any time together, and when they did it wasn't much, they would make up for the lost time whenever they could, and their love never withered. In fact, it grew more intense with every day.

After three years and long hours of hard work and tiresome classes, Nicole graduated with honors as a fully licensed entrepreneur. To celebrate her graduation, Richard asked her out to dinner at the fanciest restaurant in Elmore: the Silver Spoon. They agreed to meet in the park across the street from the restaurant at eight. Nicole was so eager that she got there half-an-hour early.

Forty five minutes later Richard still hadn't arrive. Nicole was sitting on a park bench, examining the trees and other florae around her. She had put on a semi-formal black tube dress, especially bought for the occasion.

She checked her watch for what seemed the billionth time that evening: 8:20. She was starting to think he had forgotten. After checking her watch on more time, she sighed and got up, determined to leave, but instantly recognized the sound of hurried footsteps hitting the gravel floor of the park, accompanied by panting noises. She turned around and saw Richard racing towards her, panting loudly. He stopped right in front of her and bent over trying to catch his breath.

"Richard, what happened?" asked Nicole. "You're nearly thirty minutes late."

"I… I'm sorry…" he panted hardly. He took a final gasp for air and straightened his posture. "I meant to get here in time, but I had a hard time finding the ri- KEYS!" he giggled nervously after his unusual outburst. "I couldn't find my keys!"

"O… K." Nicole was a bit confused by how he was acting. Suddenly Richard's stomach let out a loud rumble. He smiled timidly and she giggled. "Shall we?"

Richard stuck out his left elbow at her and she wrapped her arm in his.

When they arrived at the Silver Spoon, Richard asked the maître d' to check the reservation book for his name. He found it easily and directed them to their table, which was right next to the window, with a clear view of the park under the lights of the street lamps. The maître d' handed them their menus and left so they could choose what they were going to have. Nicole looked around, basking in the beauty of the restaurant's decorations.

"This place is gorgeous!" she looked at Richard. "I had heard of this place before, but I never imagined it looked this good!" he didn't reply. He was staring at her with pure love in his eyes, resting his head on his right hand. Nicole giggled. "What?"

"You're so beautiful…" he replied in a deep sigh, making Nicole blush.

"Oh…" she was embarrassed by that remark, but she couldn't help but smile. "Thank you…" then she noticed what he was wearing, and it made her smile. "You're wearing the outfit I like!"

"Yeah, I thought it would be appropriate…" he silenced himself abruptly. A trickle of sweat went down his forehead, and Nicole noticed it.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" he smiled nervously at her again. His sweat was starting to fall more abundantly. Nicole wondered why this was happening, since the room wasn't heated or anything. He rubbed his forehead, took a deep breath and held both her hands in his. "Nicole…"

"Yes, Richard?" she was starting to worry about him.

"This time we've spent together… in these last three years… these have been the happiest times of my life, and… well… I love you, Nicole."

"Aw… I love you too, Richard."

"I know, and… hum…" he tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat. "…you know… there comes a time in every couple's life when… I mean… you're a great gal, and… hum… I…" his sweat was now running down every pore of his body like water from a waterfall. Nicole's expression turned from joy to disbelief.

"Richard… are you… breaking up with me?" she felt the tears rise.

"What?! No! I would never!"

"Then what are you trying to say?"

"Please Nicole, don't pressure me…" he reached for his back pocket and took out a small purple velvet box, which he tried to hide from Nicole. "This is hard for me as it IIIIIIIIIISSSSSSS!" his hands were so sweaty that when he held the box tightly it flew up in air like a wet bar of soap. Richard tried his to grasp it, but it would escape from him with every try, until, in the process of catching the box in midair, he leaned back in his chair, which fell back with his weight and the box flew further away from his reach.

Nicole was about to get up to help him, when the box fell on the table right in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat as she picked it up and opened it. Inside was a gold ring with a diamond as big as one of her teeth.

"Oh, Richard…" her eyes were sparkling from the tears that filled them. "Do you really mean it?"

"Of course!" he had leaned onto the table to try and get up. "I've never been surer of anything in my life!" tears were now rolling down Nicole's cheeks. "So? Will you?"

"Oh, Richard… of course I'll marry you!"

"WHOOHOO! YEAH!" he jumped up and ran to his new fiancé, who he held in a tight hug. "Oh, Nicole, I promise I'll be the best husband ever!" he turned to everyone in the restaurant, never letting go of Nicole. "She said yes, everybody! WHOO!"

"Keep it down!" yelled a strange looking puppet-like creature with grey-blue fuzz covering his entire body, all except a large and protruding pink nose. "We're trying to have dinner here!" he gesture towards his wife, who had the same basic body structure as her husband, only with much larger hips and much skinnier.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy!" replied Richard, his smile now as wide as it could get. He and Nicole both hugged and laughed.

"Geez…" the puppet-like creature turned back to his table. "I tell you, Margaret, some people… I just hope we never have anyone like them as neighbors." His wife muttered under her breath.

* * *

The next couple of months were put aside for wedding planning and house searching. Nicole's parents were happy to pay for their daughter's wedding, and, as much as Richard's mom disliked her future daughter-in-law, she also contributed with the planning. She wanted her son to be happy, after all.

Nicole got a job at the rainbow factory, working long hours to earn some extra income so they could afford to buy a house. She was able to earn enough so they could buy a small house in the suburbs. They had looked at a lot of other houses, but they were all either too small or overpriced, until they found this one. As soon as the real estate agent showed them that small piece of blue and white suburban property, they fell head over heels for it. It wasn't very big, but it had three rooms and a bathroom, enough for them and their future children.

The wedding was booked early that September. It was the only time the church had an opening, since couples loved to get married in the summer. Nicole went wedding dress shopping with her mom, while Richard went tuxedo shopping with his only guy friend, Steve Small, a young hippie cloud-guy with long wavy white hair who Richard had asked to be his best man. He was the only person he knew from school who hadn't given him a hard time, besides Nicole, of course.

After months of arduous preparations and sending out an infinite number of invitations, they big day finally came. The church was flooding with family members and acquaintances from both the bride and the groom. The priest was ready and waiting in his place. In the groom's quarters, Richard was giving his bowtie a final stretch. He had bought a combination of a light-brown suit jacket and pants, a yellow shirt compressed by an orange cummerbund, and an orange bowtie. Any other person would have looked like a circus clown in those clothes, but Richard was actually able to look somewhat elegant.

He was just wiping off some dust from his sleeve when he heard a knock on the door. His friend Steve poked his head inside.

"Showtime!" he sang cheerfully.

"I'll be right out." Richard replied, smiling to his puffy friend. Steve gave him a thumbs-up and left. The groom turned to the mirror with a determined look on his face. He took a deep breath and breathed it out right afterwards. "Let's do this."

* * *

Moments later everyone's attention was turned to the altar, where Richard waited nervously for his bride to appear, with the priest behind him waiting impatiently and Steve on his right, where it was customary for the best man to be. Richard felt an enormous pressure fall over him as he saw everyone's gaze fixed on him. He had always been terrible when it came to facing an audience, and this was no exception.

Richard almost jumped when he heard the church organist start to play 'Here Comes the Bride'. Everybody got up from the pews and looked back to see Nicole slowly walk down the aisle with her father. Richard's eyes widened and he couldn't hold his smile as he saw how wonderfully beautiful Nicole looked: she wore a long frilly white wedding dress with short balloon sleeves and a white veil falling gracefully down her back, sown onto a delicate white tiara. Her bouquet mainly constituted of white roses and daisies. She was a storybook bride, and she couldn't feel happier about it.

As she finally reached the altar, her father gave her a tender kiss on the cheek before leaving, and she handed her flowers to one of her bridesmaids, a rainbow girl she had befriended in high school. She took Richard's hands and they both exchanged love-filled gazes.

"Dearly beloved…" the priest started, gaining everyone's attention. "…we are gathered here today, under the sight of our loving creator, and in the face of this company, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony. Into this holy estate these two come now to be joined. If anyone knows a reason for why these two should not be wed, let him speak now, or forever hold his peace."

Josephine lifted her arm up and was about to say something, but Richard saw her and gave her a look that, if looks could kill, she would have been mutilated. She lowered her arm, feeling slightly afraid, and her son smiled pleased right before turning his attention back to the priest.

"Very well, let's continue." The priest turned to Richard. "Do you, Richard Watterson, take Nicole to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do." Richard couldn't hold his smile, neither could Nicole.

"And do you, Nicole, take Richard to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do!" she was so happy she couldn't herself from almost shouting that answer. Richard's smile grew bigger.

"May we have the rings, please?" the priest turned to Steve, who was holding a pillow with two gold rings on it. He moved the pillow towards the couple, and they each took out a ring, which they slipped into each other's finger. "And so, with the power invested in me, it is with great pride that I now pronounce you husband and wife." He turned to Richard. "You may kiss the bride."

Richard pulled Nicole into his arms and gave her a deep passionate kiss, which made the guests present cheer for the newlyweds. When they broke the kiss, Richard looked deeply into his wife's eyes.

"Hey there, Mrs. Watterson." he said in a seductive tone.

"Nicole Watterson… Doesn't sound too bad." Nicole replied, and was about to kiss Richard again, when she felt a tap on her left shoulder. She turned to the priest, who pointed behind her.

"I hate to rain on your parade, but a T-Rex just took a big bite out of the wedding cake." As Nicole turned around she saw Timmy Rex licking his lips, which were covered in cake frosting, and in front of him the wedding cake with had a big bite mark on one side. Nicole felt the rage grow inside her.

"Oh, no… not on my day!" she stomped towards Timmy and gave him the beating of a lifetime, making him run out of the church in fear. She returned to the altar patting her hands and smiled at her husband. "Shall we?"

Richard nodded and they walked down the aisle. As they did, Nicole, who now had her bouquet back, threw it into the air behind her, making every single woman in the church throw themselves into a dog pile to fight for the floral arrangement. As they reached the entrance they ignored the fact that, for some weird reason, Miss Simian drove by and made fun Nicole's husband, calling her a 'loser' again. Their close friends had gathered around, and the photographer was ready to take their wedding picture.

"Whoa whoa!" Richard halted the photographer. "I'll be right back!"

He dashed off to the room where he had been getting ready earlier, leaving Nicole and the others feeling confused. He returned five minutes later wearing an open black vest, which allowed him to show off his chest hair, he had somehow grown a black moustache that went all the way to the back of his head, and he had drawn a tattoo on his right arm of a unicorn with a winged skull for a head, a heart on its chest and a little banner underneath it saying 'Nicole'. Nicole's mouth was agape as he walked up to her with a look of determination that should only be reserved for the toughest of bikers.

"Richard…" Nicole didn't know what to say. "…what are you wearing? And how did you grow that moustache so quickly?"

"Will power, baby. All will power." He answered in what sounded like a forced hoarse tone. "I wanted to make this day unforgettable, with a wedding picture to prove it. What do you think?"

Nicole was silent for a few more moments and then burst into laughter. She laughed so hard she cried. After a few seconds of laughing she calmed herself down, wiped her eyes and took his hand.

"Let's just take the picture, honey." She was still giggling, and she kept giggling as she held her husband's hands while the photographer took their picture, so she was immortalized with a flawless smile.

* * *

After the reception they drove off to their new home, the cans tied to their car scrapping the concrete road and making noise to call attention to the 'Just Married' sign glued to the back of the vehicle. As they reached the house they exited the car and headed towards the house. Nicole was about to open the door when Richard swept her off her feet to hold her in his arms. He kicked-open the door with his foot and carried his wife inside. They had furnished the house days earlier, so it was ready to be inhabited.

He gently released his bride on the living room couch and gave her a loving kiss.

"We did it, baby." he was still using his made-up voice. "We're married."

"Yes we are…" Nicole replied in a deep seductive tone. "But could you please stop using that tone? And shave that moustache?"

"I don't need to." He compressed his face and the moustache disappeared. "There! All better!"

Nicole laughed and stared at her husband's now moustache-free face. He wasn't the most attractive of all the men she had seen, but her love for him made him look perfect in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked deep and lovingly into his eyes.

"I love you, Richard Watterson." She said, completely in love with the rabbit in front of her.

"And I love you, Nicole Watterson." He replied, feeling the exact same way about her.

They embraced each other in a deep love-filled kiss. It was truly the happiest day of their lives.


	4. The First

After their storybook wedding, Nicole and Richard went to France for their honeymoon. Nicole's dad had enough in his savings to pay for the trip and stay at a three star hotel in Paris, the city his daughter had always wanted to visit. But instead of the perfection they were expecting, it turned out to be a general headache.

As soon as they arrived at the immortal city of lights they got ripped off by a cab driver, who drove them around town on purpose to make them pay more than they should. When they reached the hotel the concierge couldn't find their names in the registry, so they had to spend the night in the lobby until the next day, when another couple was checking out and they could have their room. And the worst part was when they were having dinner at one of the many traditional French restaurants in the area and the waiter asked Richard if he wanted to check the menu, and Richard, who didn't understand a lick of French, thought the waiter was insulting him, so he tried to pick a fight with him. As much as Nicole would try to tell him what that really meant he just didn't listen, and he wouldn't calm down, so Nicole had to drag him back to the hotel, right after apologizing to the poor waiter.

After a while of experiencing Paris they decided that the trip wasn't relaxing at all, so they decided to cut it short. What should have been a two-week-long stay turned to a four-day-long torture. When they arrived back home they couldn't help but sigh in relief. They returned to their usual routines almost instantly: Nicole had her job at the Rainbow Factory and Richard searched for one for himself, but as much as he looked and applied for a career he was always turned down. 'You're not qualified', they said. 'You don't have any skills whatsoever', they said. One company actually told him that he smelt funny. After a full month of going through the job section of every single tabloid he could get his hands on, he finally called it quits and decided to stay home. After all, his wife made enough money to provide for the both, so he wasn't worried.

A few months later Nicole was walking up the stairs to head towards her room, when she noticed the white door on her right. It was the last door down the hallway and behind it was a room big enough for a child or two, but it was empty, and that somehow bothered her. When they had first bought that house they had decided that those rooms weren't going to be empty forever, but somewhere along the line they had forgotten that. As Nicole entered her room she was determined to bring that up again to Richard as soon as she had the chance.

Later that night as Richard was putting on his pajamas, Nicole entered their room trying to sum up the nerve to discuss that delicate topic with her husband.

"Richard, honey?" she could feel her heart start to race.

"Yeah?" Richard squeezed his head through the collar of his pajama sweater.

"Do you remember the first thing you said when we bought this house?" Nicole waited eagerly for his reply. Richard rubbed his chin in thought.

"Oh yeah!" he stuck out his index finger. "I said: 'I sure am going to enjoy having barbeques here!'"

"No, not that. The other thing."

"About how we needed to hang a basketball hoop out back?"

"No…" Nicole placed her hand on her forehead and took a deep breath before continuing. "The thing about how we needed to fill up the rest of the rooms?" Richard's expression turned to thought.

"Nah, I think we have enough junk already."

"Not fill up like that, fill up like… you know… 'fill up'?" she made air quotes with her fingers as she pronounced those words. Richard's expression turned again, this time to recognition.

"Oh…OHHHH..." he had finally understood what she meant. "You mean…"

Nicole nodded. Richard gulped nervously. The topic of procreation had been familiar to him since they first started having Sex Ed. in school, but when it came to actually practicing that subject… let's just say he was still a rookie.

"Are you sure about this?" he inquired his wife.

"Absolutely." she answered, taking a few steps towards him. "Think about it: we have more than enough room, I make more than enough money and I really think a child would bring more joy into our lives." she advanced a few more steps. "So…" she took a few more steps and was now only a few inches away from him, gazing at him seductively. "…what do you say…" she caressed his cheek with her hand. "…Mr. Watterson?"

Richard was speechless. He was seeing a side of Nicole he would have never even dreamt about seeing: a flirtatious, sensual, lustful side. Even though he was blushing like a schoolgirl, he liked it. He liked it very much.

"Let's do it!" he smiled mischievously at Nicole, who grabbed his sweater collar and pulled him into a deep passionate kiss right away. He returned the kiss with great pleasure as they moved towards the bed. When they both collapsed on the mattress they started to remove each other's clothes.

It was going to be a night to remember.

* * *

A week later the Rainbow Factory was visited by a group of high school students, who had scheduled a field trip there, and Nicole was assigned to give them the tour, no doubt because she had been on her boss's soft spot since the day she was hired. It would have been a normal work day for her, if it hadn't been for one thing…

She had just shown the tour group where they inserted the ingredients necessary to produce a rainbow into one of the many machines operated in the factory, and was now leading them towards the area where they added the glitter.

"And after they're turned into all the colors of the rainbow, the final product comes here, where this particular machine sprinkles them with glitter so they can be shiny when they're shot into the sky." she explained to the students, keeping her happy tone constant. "Afterwards, it-"

And that's when she felt it: her heart started beating uncontrollably, she was producing more saliva than it would be normal, she got some sort of metallic taste in mouth, she was breathing hardly, and she felt woozy, so woozy she had to lean against one of the building's support beams to keep herself from falling down.

"Are you OK?" one of the students from the group came up to her and put her hand on her shoulder. "You look kind of pale."

"I don't feel so good… I think-" before she could finish that sentence she felt an acid substance coming up her esophagus. She only had time pick up a nearby trash bin and release a mouthful of vomit into it, making the tour group step back in disgust. She wiped her mouth and stoop up straight. "I am so sorry! This is so unusual! I'm never sick in the…" she froze in shock. "…morning." She threw the bin away and ran out the door, right after telling one of her co-workers to finish the tour for her and tell her boss that she had to take the rest of the day off for health reasons.

* * *

While all that commotion was happening at his wife's work, Richard was at home, flipping through channels on the TV, bored out of his mind. He was about to doze off into one of his many daily naps, when Nicole slammed the door open, snapping him out of his sleepy state. He was now fully awake.

"Hey, honey. You're home soon." he checked his watch: 10:05. "Really soon!" she moved towards him with a grin so wide it was scary, like a serial killer right before making his first victim. He was starting to get scared. "Is… is everything alright?"

"Oh, Richard…" she squealed, unable to conceal her delight. "Everything is just wonderful! Look!" she practically rubbed what she was holding in his face. It looked like a white and blue pen, but it was thicker and flat. In its center was a small green circle, which appeared to be a little screen, showing a blue plus sign. Richard forced a smile out of himself.

"Wow, that's great…" he tried to fake some enthusiasm. "Really! Good for you!" Nicole frowned.

"You have no idea what this is, do you?" she asked in a monotonous tone.

"Not a clue." he replied with indifference. Nicole groaned.

"Richard, this is a pregnancy test."

"Huh..." he still didn't get it.

"A positive pregnancy test!" she applied special emphasis on the word 'positive'.

"Huh…" then his eyes widened. "Wait! You mean… you're…"

"Yes, Richard, I'm pregnant! We're gonna have a baby!" her enthusiasm returned. Richard got up, picked his wife in his arms and twirled her around, both of them letting out laughs of excitement. They hugged each other tight and cried with joy.

"We're gonna be a family…" Nicole whispered between her sobs.

* * *

As the months went by Nicole realized that pregnancy wasn't a picnic. Her morning nauseas didn't disappear until her final month, the baby wouldn't sit still for one minute, and as soon as it started kicking it never stopped. She had terrible cravings, which most of the time meant Richard had to get up in the middle of the night to run to the gas station and buy her some of the most ridiculous edible items known to man, and her mood swings were horribly unstable. One minute she was fine, the other she was depressed, the other she was furious… Richard had learned a long time ago to stay out of her way when she had emotional issues. Someone or something would always pay.

Nicole had refused to stay home while she was pregnant. Even though her boss insisted that she should take some time off to rest she kept telling him she was fine. Eventually he gave up and let her decide her own life.

Now the baby's expected birth date was coming up, and they were fully prepared. They had bought all they needed in terms of baby furniture, bottles, toys, you name it. They even had reserved a room at the hospital on the specified day, but unfortunately that had to be postponed…

One morning Nicole was driving to work with a full-grown belly, and was about to make a turn, a turn she would have missed if she wasn't going in the designated speed limit, because as soon she turned the wheel she felt a searing pain in her abdomen. She was able to pull over after driving on the sidewalk for a split second, but a policeman saw her and approached her vehicle, determined to give her a ticket.

"Ma'am, do you realized you could have run over a pedestrian? You need to-" he ceased his talking as soon as he saw Nicole, who was grasping her enormous stomach in pain, the seat beneath her completely wet. Her water had broken. "Are you alright, ma'am?"

"NO, I'M NOT ALRIGHT! I'M GOING INTO LABOR, YOU FREAKIN' IDIOT!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, the pain being too much for her to bear. He ignored the insult because he was too busy panicking. He grabbed his walkie-talkie and called an ambulance to that location.

* * *

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Richard had just arrived at the hospital. He had gotten a call saying Nicole was there, giving birth to his child. After driving like a maniac he was now yelling desperately at the nurse at the reception. "WHERE'S MY WIFE?! SHE'S IN LABOR!"

"Oh, you must be Mr. Watterson!" she checked her computer. "She's in Delivery Room 2-B. But you can't-" before she had time to finish Richard had already ran to the elevator and was frenetically pressing the 'up' button.

When he got to the right floor he ran down the hall to Delivery Room 2-B, from where a doctor had just come out, fully dressed for the delivery, his gloves drenched in blood. Richard stopped right in front of him, panting hardly and trying to catch his breath.

"Mr. Watterson, I presume." Said the doctor, his voice muffled by the surgical mask.

"Ye… yeah… that's me…" Richard was breathing with difficulty.

"I just got paged saying you'd be here." Continued the doctor. "I'm afraid you can't come in just yet. Your child's delivery is being harder than we thought." Richard stood up straight.

"How hard?" just then he heard Nicole scream loudly from inside the room. It sounded like she was being murdered, slowly and painfully. Richard gulped.

"I have to go. I'll warn you as soon as it's over." The doctor returned inside, leaving Richard alone in the hallway. He sat on one of the chairs available and waited.

Nicole's excruciating pain manifests didn't cease for another four hours, and Richard was starting to get worried. Suddenly there was silence, and the doctor poked his head through the double doors.

"Mr. Watterson? You can come in now." Richard followed the doctor inside, where Nicole was lying unconscious on the bed, her fur in an absolute mess. "Don't worry, she just passed out. The pain and the pressure she applied were too much for her. The nurses will return with your baby momentarily, right after they're done cleaning him." Richard sighed in relief, but then his ears perked up.

"'Him'?" Richard's heart started racing. The doctor smiled at him.

"Yes, Mr. Watterson. You have a son."

Richard threw his fists into the air and started celebrating. The doctor exited moments later to check on the baby, and Richard sat beside Nicole's bed, eagerly waiting for her to wake up and give her the good news. She finally started to come to her senses a few seconds later. She moaned and turned to her husband.

"Ri… Richard? What… what happened?" she asked weakly.

"You did it, honey! You had a boy!" said Richard, still overly excited. Nicole smiled faintly.

"A boy…" she smiled and a tear went down her cheek as her husband held her hand in his. Just then the doctor returned with the baby wrapped in a blanket. Nicole sat up slowly, still feeling weak.

"Mr. and Mrs. Watterson… I present to you… your son." He handed their little bundle to Nicole, but as soon as they saw their son their smiles disappeared and were replaced with expressions of shock and disgust. The baby was a blue kitten, just like his mother, but for some reason his head was compressed into the shape of a pear.

"What the heck happened to him?!" asked Nicole, barely believing her eyes.

"Well, when he came out he had the umbilical cord tied around his head, which was why the delivery was so difficult." Explained the doctor. "It must have been like this from the start of your pregnancy for it to have affected his cranium this much. I'm sure it'll return to its normal shape as he starts to grow, but just to be safe I'd like to keep him here under observation for a few days. And you better stay too, ma'am."

The doctor had to leave again for a few minutes, and Nicole and Richard examined the child in front of them.

"Well, just because he's a little less perfect than I imagined, it doesn't mean I'm going to love him less…" said Nicole, smiling at her newborn child.

"And he does have your eyes!" observed Richard, making his wife giggle with that remark. He picked up his son and lifted him up over his head. "My boy!"

"We still have to name him." Remembered Nicole.

"Ooh, can I do it? I've been giving this a lot of thought, and I have the perfect name!" exclaimed Richard excitedly. Nicole smiled.

"Well, OK… but I name the next one if it's a girl! Or another boy." She pointed out.

"Yeah, sure." He looked at his son again, pride growing in his chest. "You shall be named… Gumball Tristopher Watterson!"

"Gumball?! That's no name for a child!" Nicole was almost appalled. "And Tristopher? Don't you mean 'Christopher'?"

"No, I mean 'Tristopher'! 'Trisha' for short. And Gumball is a fine name! Besides, we have a deal. I get to name this one whatever I want, and I name him just that: Gumball Tristopher Watterson." Nicole sighed at how stubborn her husband was, but she didn't have the strength nor the patience to deal with that right now, so she just let him have that one.

"Fine… but if the other kids laugh at him it's your own fault! Not let me hold him!" She stretched out her arms and Richard handed her son to her. Even though he was a tad deformed, he was still an adorable little baby. And perfect in his mother's eyes. She smiled at her child and held him even closer. "Gumball… It actually is an adorable name." She smiled at her husband, who did the same.

They were finally a family.


	5. The Second

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first thought up this story it was WAY before I knew Darwin was a pet fish that grew legs, so I imagined him being left at the Wattersons' doorstep, so please keep that in mind

Nicole and baby Gumball stayed at the hospital for about a week while Richard stayed home, where he was supposed to take care of all the chores, but neglected them almost instantly. A few days after blowing off a big part of his wife's money by accidentally buying a star on the Internet, he picked up Nicole and his son at the hospital. Nicole had finally agreed to stay home on maternity leave, so now they could both devote themselves to raising their son.

It turned out Richard was great father. Being an adult with the mentality of a 10-year-old, he loved playing with Gumball, who in return loved playing with him. His love and devotion to his child made Nicole smile, and it really came in handy, because while Richard kept Gumball busy she could tend to all the house work.

Just like the doctor predicted, Gumball's head ended up returning to its normal shape after a few months, although it was still pretty big. But that wasn't a problem. What really mattered was that he was a happy and healthy little boy. Richard didn't leave his side for a minute, snapping the camera at him every second he could. He took pictures of all of his son's accomplishments: Gumball's first bath? SNAP! Gumball's first solid dinner? SNAP! Gumball's first steps? Well, when that happened he was in front of him encouraging him, but Nicole was there with the camera ready to capture that moment. Each and every one of their son's 'firsts' was captured on camera, along with everything else he did. They were starting to run out of photo albums.

After finding out about her husband's accidental, yet extremely generous, waste of money online, Nicole had to work longer hours just to be able to feed her family. She was lucky Richard was there to take care of Gumball. Every day she would come exhausted, but seeing the smile on her son's face made it all worth it. The only downside was that, although Richard was great when it came to playing with his son, he was terrible when it came to actually taking care of him. He had no idea how to bathe him, dress him, change his diaper, nothing! Most of the time this resulted in a scolding from Nicole, who had to do everything herself after a full day of tiresome work. This also happened when it came to feeding the baby in the middle of the night. Who got up to give him his bottle? Nicole, of course. Eventually this ceased when Gumball stopped crying every night, but it still drained months of sleep out of the poor woman.

Two years had passed and everything was now OK. Nicole still worked long hours, but she could now sleep through the entire night, and Richard was still home to keep an eye on his son. Now it was Nicole's day off, one of the very few she had, and she had decided to spend it by playing with Gumball, a thing she could do so very little. She was on the floor with her son building towers out of blocks, while Richard sat on the couch watching TV, when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." she got up to answer the door, but she felt a tug at her tail. She looked down to see Gumball with one of the biggest pair of puppy-dog eyes she had ever seen.

"But mommy, you _pwomised_ to _pway_ with me _aww_ day!" he said in a weepy voice, that almost broke her heart.

"Ohhh…" she turned to her husband. "Richard could you get the door, please? I promised Gumball I'd play with him all day, and… well… you know how literal he can be." she whispered that last part so her son wouldn't hear her.

Richard nodded, got up and opened the door, but there was no one there. He looked at both sides of the street to see if there was anyone there, and was about to close the door, when he heard a whimper coming from beneath him. He looked down to see a baby goldfish wrapped in a blanket on his doorstep. It had big shiny green eyes and cheeks so chubby no one could resist squeezing them. Richard gasped, completely enamored with the little creature, picked it up, slammed the door and ran to his wife, who had returned to the floor.

"Nicole! Nicole! Look what someone just left at our door!" he showed the little fish to his wife, who immediately got up to get a closer look at it. "Can we keep it? Please?"

"I don't know, Richard…" she picked up the baby in her arms to examine it closer. "I mean, Gumball is already such a handful…" Just then the baby let out one of the most tender-sounding display of adorableness anyone could ever hear: 'mamma'. It was too much for Nicole, and she cracked like an egg. "Oh, who am I kidding?! Of course we can keep it!" Richard let out a 'yay!' and she hugged the baby tight, but not too tight, so as not to hurt it, and as she did a note fell from somewhere on the blanket.

"Hey, what's this?" Richard picked up the note.

"Let me see." he handed his wife the note. "'Dear sir and/or ma'am'…" she read, still holding the baby close to her. "'My pet fish somehow grew legs and is now acting like a normal baby. I am not able to raise him, due to my current financial state, so I am leaving him to you, certain that you will do a better job than I would ever do. Please raise him as your own, and thank you. Thank you so very much. And please call him by the name I gave him, since it is the only name he responds to. His name is…'… Wow, that's a long name!" she commented, counting how many middle names were written on the small sheet of paper. She showed it to Richard, who let out a surprised 'whoa!'. "And you know, the funny part is that my grandfather and great-grandfather had the same name!"

"Huh… How about that!" said Richard, also surprised by that fact. "You know, since he was someone else's pet, we could register him as our pet."

"Richard! That's inhumane!" she really was appalled this time.

"Just to avoid the whole adoption process! I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I do know it takes forever to adopt a kid. And so do you." he was serious, and she had to admit it: he was right. She sighed.

"You're right…" the little fish nuzzled against her chest and dozed off into a deep slumber. She smiled and kissed his forehead. Even though he was going to be considered a pet, she didn't love him any less. "I will love you as my own…" she whispered softly to him. She then turned to her two-year-old son to show him the new addition to the family. "Look, Gumball! You have a brother!" the toddler examined the little creature being shown to him.

"What's a _bwothew_?" he asked, in his sweet childish voice.

"Well, it's like a friend you can play with all the time, because he's in your family." she explained in the right words for him to understand. The kitten's eyes widened and he grinned.

"YAAAAYYY!" he celebrated, throwing his little arms into the air.

The next day they went downtown to register their new baby as their pet, a motion carried by the mayor a few years earlier, who everyone knew had a few screws loose, and in the registry they wrote the name of their new family member: Darwin Raglan Caspian Ahab Poseidon Nicodemius Watterson III.


	6. The Girl

Little Darwin turned out to be a breeze when it came to raising him, unlike his older brother, who kept getting himself into trouble. Much to Nicole's dismay he soon learned to act like Gumball, the only upside being that they became best friends. When he was one, Gumball, who was then three, decided it would be funny to teach him how to make funny faces. This resulted on the little fish spraining his face muscles somehow, and being stuck with the same terrifying expression for almost a month, which made him look like he was always shocked and scared. For weeks people would be frightened by him when they saw him on the street. Eventually his face returned to normal and he and his brother were back to their playful ways.

Just like what happened when Gumball was growing up, Richard captured all of Darwin's special moments on camera. Of course he still took pictures of his first born, but now his lens was focused on both of them. Nicole had gotten a promotion in the year Gumball and Darwin turned six and four, respectively, which was a great help, seeing that now they had one more mouth to feed.

When Darwin got too old for Gumball's old crib they decided to buy a bunk bed for their room, but the first night the young fish slept on it he didn't like it at all. The next day they took the kids to the mall and decided to let their youngest decide what kind of bed he wanted to sleep in. After looking at every single bed in every single furniture shop they gave up, and were about to leave when they passed a pet store. Suddenly Nicole felt Darwin let go of her hand and when she looked back he had his face practically glued onto the display window. He was staring wide-eyed at a fishbowl.

"Are you sure, sweetie?" she asked her youngest, who nodded excitedly. The two parents shrugged and decided to buy their son a fishbowl to sleep in. It was still cheaper than a new bed, they thought.

That night, before he went to bed, Darwin ran into the kitchen just as Nicole was tidying up, filled his 'bed' with water and ran out again in his usual happy-go-lucky self. When she went to check on her sons after they went to bed she had to muffle a giggle: Gumball was sleeping deeply on the lower bunk with his mouth open, snoring loudly and drooling abundantly in the process, while Darwin was sound asleep inside his new fishbowl, which was placed on the nightstand next to Gumball, letting out little snores in the form of bubbles. As she gently closed the door behind her she couldn't help but think about how adorable her little boys were.

* * *

When Gumball turned seven and Darwin turned five, Nicole had to do one of the most arduous things a mother could do: take her kids to school for their first day. Again, Darwin had to be registered as a pet fish, but somehow, instead of going to kindergarten, he was moved up to Gumball's grade. To this day Nicole still doesn't understand how that happened. Now she had to say goodbye to her boys as they embarked onto the scary new world that was elementary school.

"Do you both have your lunches? Did you brush your teeth? Are you sure you don't want to wait another few years before you start school?" she asked anxiously, straightening Gumball's clothes and making sure Darwin's shoes were properly tied.

"Mom, come on! Quit it!" Gumball repelled his mom's hands as she was about to comb the fur on his head with her fingers. "It's just school! How bad can it be?" You'll know by the end of the day, thought Nicole to herself.

"I can't wait to make new friends!" said Darwin excitedly.

"And have great adventures!" exclaimed Gumball to his little brother. Nicole knew what kind of adventures they normally had, and she hoped that the ones they were going to have there wouldn't be too 'adventurous'. She snapped out of her state of thought when she heard the school bell ring.

"What's that?" inquired Darwin, obliviously.

"That's the bell. It means you have to get to class right now or you'll be late." she explained to her sons. They both gasped and were about to run inside when their mom grabbed them by the arms. "Wait!" she pulled them both into a tight hug and held them for what to them seemed to be hours.

"Mom?" asked Gumball, his voice muffled for having his mouth pressed against his mom's shoulder.

"Yes, sweetie?" she asked, not loosening her grip.

"We're gonna be late."

She immediately realized that her son was right and let them both go. As they reached the entrance to Elmore Elementary, they turned around and waved to their mom, who waved back. As they disappeared into the building Nicole just stood there. She had let her sons go. There was no turning back now. Although she knew she would see them again when she picked them up later, it felt like she had lost them forever. When she entered her car she couldn't hold in her tears any longer, and cried desperately for a few minutes.

* * *

A couple of weeks had passed since her sons' first day of school, and Nicole still hadn't gotten over it. She had grown so attached to her little boys over the years that the separation was harder on her than she thought.

Now she was at work, but she just wasn't able to concentrate. She kept thinking about Gumball and Darwin. Were they OK? Were they learning everything right? She just couldn't take it. She needed them back! Either them or… another child…

Her eyes widened with that thought, but soon her expression switched to a mix of anger and determination. She checked the time: she only had to pick up her kids in three hours. She slammed her fists onto her desk, got up, commanded one her coworkers to tell the boss she was going to take the rest of the day off and stormed out.

* * *

Richard sat on the couch, sound asleep and oblivious to anything else around him, but he soon woke up when his dreams were interrupted by the sound of the front door slamming open. He fell out of the couch with the scare, and when he looked he saw his wife fuming and breathing heavily whilst staring at him. We gave her a nervous smile, trying to figure out what he had done this time.

"H-hi, honey…" he was starting to shiver. "Home so soon?"

"Richard…"she lifted him up by his shirt collar and looked him right in the eyes. "I want another baby." She explained calmly, her expression unaltered. Richard gulped.

"B-but, sweetie, we already have t-two kids…"

"I DON'T CARE! I WANT ANOTHER BABY!" she shook him in anger. He placed his hands on her shoulders to try and calm her down.

"Nicole, calm down! You're acting crazy!" that remark made her calm down, both her actions and her expression.

"You're right… We shouldn't start trying tonight…" she loosened her grip and Richard sighed in relief, but her anger and determination returned right away. "We should start trying RIGHT NOW!" she ripped open her husband's shirt, shoved him onto the couch and jumped onto him.

Meanwhile, outside…

"How awesome was it that Miss Simian had to leave early?" commented Gumball as he and Darwin were reaching their doorstep.

"And it sure was nice of Penny's dad to drive us home!" added Darwin. "But why did he frown when you told him our last name?"

"I don't know. Maybe he just doesn't like it." He grabbed the doorknob, but turned to his brother smiling. "Isn't Penny a great friend?" Darwin grinned.

"You like Penny!" he teased his brother.

"What?! No way!" he looked outraged, but he was blushing slightly. "I just like her as a friend, that's all!" he turned the doorknob and opened the door.

"WE'RE HOME!" they both declared at the same time in delight, only to be shocked and disgusted as soon as they saw what was going on in their living room.

Moments later the two youngsters were hugging their legs against their chests and rocking themselves back and forth on the couch, frightened like they have never been before. In front of them stood their parents, Nicole wearing a pink bathrobe and Richard with his clothes out of line, both embarrassed about what they had done and trying to find the right words to explain to their children what they had just seen.

"Sweeties… about what you saw…" Nicole started, still uncertain about what to say. "…your father and I… we were… uh…"

"Wrestling!" lied Richard. "We were wrestling."

"What are you doing? We can't lie to our own children!" Nicole whispered to her husband.

"Do you want them to stay like that forever?" he whispered back, gesturing towards the two traumatized boys. Nicole sighed and faked a smile.

"Yeah, that's right… wrestling…" lied Nicole.

"But you were… naked…" noted Gumball, trying to erase that image from his memory.

"Oh, yeah… about that…" Nicole didn't really know what to say. Richard placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I got this." He moved towards his sons and knelt down to face them. "Did you boys know that, in ancient Greece, wrestlers fought naked?" the two little ones stop rocking themselves and focused on what their dad was saying. "That's what your mother and I were doing: practicing ancient Greek wrestling." He ended with a victorious smirk on his face. Nicole was speechless.

"That…" said Gumball, motionless.

"… is…" added Darwin, also motionless.

"… so… COOL!" they both shouted, throwing their arms up and smiling brightly.

"Can we try it sometime?" asked Gumball, his eyes sparkling.

"I'd rather you didn't." answered Nicole.

"Why not?" asked Darwin innocently.

"Because… it's a grown-up thing. Only grown-ups can do it!" she hated lying to her children, but it would save them from childhood traumas, so be it. The boys frowned and crossed their arms. "Why don't you guys go play videogames?" they immediately ceased their frowning and ran off happily. Nicole turned to Richard. "How did you…?"

"It's the only thing I remember from History Class." He said smiling goofily. Nicole couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

That night Nicole couldn't sleep. She felt remorseful for what she had done earlier, and it would keep her awake all night if she didn't somehow make amends. She looked over at Richard on her right, sleeping soundly and snoring loudly. She had to talk to him.

"Richard?" she shook his shoulder, trying to wake him up. No response. "Richard!" she called out louder. He woke up abruptly, startled by his wife.

"Wha…? Is it time to wake up already?" he asked, still half asleep.

"No Richard, it's two in the morning."

"Then why'd you wake me?" he was about to doze off again.

"Because I need to talk to you. It's serious." As she pled to her husband, he rubbed his eyes and tried to stay awake. "I wanted to apologize about what happened earlier. Thanks to me our children were almost scarred for life. I just… I was crazy. Ever since Gumball and Darwin started school I've felt like there's something missing in my life. I miss being the one to raise them. I miss having them home all day. I miss… being a mom…" she looked over at Richard, who was listening to her with a surprising amount of attention. "I just thought that if I had another baby I would feel better about myself…"

"You really want another baby, don't you?" he asked, concerned. She nodded and he sat up, giving her an encouraging smile. "Then let's do it!" Nicole looked at him surprised.

"Really?" she asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, what the heck! Let's have another kid!"

She threw herself into his arms and gave him a deep passionate kiss, which soon evolved into something a little more… intense.

* * *

Two weeks later Richard was returning home one afternoon with Gumball and Darwin after picking them up from school, and was giving them something he had never given them before: a scolding.

"What were you thinking? Wasting all the toilet paper from the bathroom on TP fights… Sure it's fun, but not when it's the school's paper! Do you think paper grows on trees?" the two boys lowered their heads as their father opened the door, only to walk in and see Nicole with one of her serial-killer-like grins. "Honey, are you OK?" she showed him the same contraption she had shown him seven years ago, and this time he remembered what it was. He gasped. "Really?" she nodded excitedly. He ran to her and gave her a tight hug. They laughed together as their sons stared at them confused.

"Uh… what's going on?" asked Gumball.

"Boys… you're gonna have a brother or sister!" Nicole declared. Gumball and Darwin gasped and ran around the room celebrating. Richard gave his wife a tender kiss on the cheek and they both smiled at each other.

* * *

Compared to what happened when she was pregnant with Gumball, Nicole's second pregnancy was a walk in the park for her. Her nauseas weren't half as intense, the baby moved, but not so much that it would bother her, her mood swings barely even manifested themselves, and her cravings were under control. She felt so relaxed she could actually work better. And yes, again she refused to stay home.

To avoid another surprise trip to the maternity ward like the one they had had with their first born, this time Nicole and Richard reserved a room at the hospital to check into a few days before the baby's expected birth date. They had packed a suitcase with all the essentials and Richard had called his mom to ask her to look after the boys while they were away.

"But mom, why do we have to stay with Granny Jojo?" asked Gumball in a sad tone. They day had come for Nicole and Richard to head to hospital. They were all packed and were only waiting for Richard's mom to arrive so they could leave.

"Because the last time we left you two alone in the house for five minutes you practically set the place on fire." explained Nicole. "You just can't be left alone without supervision."

"Yeah, but why Granny Jojo? Why not someone else?"

"Hum… because she's your grandmother?" asked Nicole ironically. "Besides we can't afford a babysitter on such short notice." Gumball frowned and crossed his arms.

"I don't see what your problem is. Granny Jojo is sweet!" declared Darwin in is usual lovable self.

"Oh really, Darwin?" Gumball asked his brother, still angry. "What about those kisses she gives us? They're disgusting! Her lips are all wet and wrinkly…" he shivered with that thought.

"I think you're the only one who thinks that." replied his fishy friend.

"Oh, what do you know…" Gumball turned back to his mom with pleading eyes. "Mom, please! I'm eight years old! I can take care of myself! Just don't leave me with her!"

"Gumball, I don't have the patience to deal with you right, so just face the fact that your grandmother is going to babysit you." Nicole's patience was wearing out. Just as her son let out a loud groan the doorbell rang. When Richard opened it he saw his mother with not-too-pleased face.

"Hi, ma'!" Richard greeted happily. "Thanks for coming!"

"Yeah, yeah…" she entered and sat on the couch next to her two grandsons.

"Now you boys be nice to Granny Jojo while we're away. We'll call you as soon as the baby is born." Nicole instructed the boys as she gave both of them a kiss on the forehead. "Bye!" they both exited, and as soon as they closed the door behind them, Josephine turned to Gumball and Darwin.

"Aren't you boys going to give Granny Jojo a kiss?" she asked in a monotonous tone. Gumball frowned and Darwin smiled.

* * *

When Nicole and Richard arrived at the hospital there was a nurse at the entrance with an empty wheelchair in front of her. They had called the hospital earlier to warn them they were going to check in that day, so there was no doubt that nurse was waiting for them. As they got out of the car and headed towards her she smiled.

"Mr. and Mrs. Watterson?" she asked.

"Yes, that's us." Replied Nicole, returning the smile.

"I've been expecting you. Please, sit here and I will take you to your room." She helped Nicole sit on the wheelchair and carried her inside. "This is your second, right?"

"That's right." Confirmed Nicole.

"Then don't worry. I'm sure this birth will be a lot easier." assured the nurse.

* * *

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHH! THIS IS NOT EASIER AT ALL!"

Richard could hear his wife yelling all the way inside the delivery room. Her water had broken a few hours after they had arrived at the hospital, and now he was waiting in the exact same spot where he had been eight years ago. He had called his mom earlier to bring the kids over and now he was waiting for them. When they finally showed up Nicole had been in labor for one hour.

"Traffic was a nightmare." Josephine declared, practically dragging Gumball and Darwin by their hands. "So how long has she been in there?"

"An hour." Replied Richard, a tad worried about his wife's wellbeing.

"That's nothing. You took about two days." She said, pointing at her son.

"Is she suffering?" asked Darwin, also worried. As if to answer his question, Nicole let out another loud scream from inside the delivery room. Darwin was starting to cry.

"There, there." Josephine patted her grandson's head. "I'm sure she's fine." Just then the doctor poked his head through the door. It was the same doctor that had delivered Gumball.

"Mr. Watterson?" he didn't need to say more. Richard got up and followed him inside. This time Nicole was awake and already had the baby in her arms, to whom she was smiling tenderly. She had tears in her eyes, but those were tears of joy. She looked up at her husband and smiled even brighter.

"It's a girl!" she was starting to cry again. Richard could feel himself also start to water up. He sat beside the bed, placed his hand on her wife's shoulder and looked down at his daughter. She looked exactly like him: a pink bunny with big brown eyes. "Get the kids. I want them to see her."

Richard did just that. Leaving his wife alone with his newborn-daughter he called his mom and his sons inside. They entered with looks of pure curiosity.

"Kids…" Nicole turned the baby to them as they approached the bed. "…this is your new sister, Anais." Darwin let out an emotional 'awww', but Gumball scowled.

"A girl?!" he complained. "Girls are lame!" he earned himself a slap on the back of the head from his grandmother.

"I think she's cute!" commented Darwin.

"She's perfect." Nicole held her daughter close and kissed her head. Richard gave his wife a kiss on the cheek.

Their family was now complete.


	7. The Prodigy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep in mind that this was written 5 years before "The Rival" came out, so it will have some inconsistencies -_-;
> 
> And for those who are wondering, Anais is quoting "Oliver Twist"

Nicole couldn't believe how easy it was to raise little Anais. Darwin's upbringing had already been simple, but Anais' was by far the best. She practically raised herself.

Nicole first noticed this one day when she was changing her diaper. Richard had entered the room to show her the shards of one of the vases in the living room, which Gumball had broken, and from the corner of her eye Nicole saw her daughter finish fastening the diaper at both sides with the tabs. At first she thought she was just mimicking what she saw her mother do to her every day, but soon her opinion changed.

Anais was a very precocious baby. She started walking when she was only six months old and talking when she was eight. By the time she was two years old she could already make very well structured sentences, although she still pronounced her L's and R's as W's, a characteristic she lost in just a few months. Nicole was the only one who noticed how fast her daughter was progressing, and whenever she would tell Richard how she was special and gifted, he would give her that 'every mother thinks that about her child' excuse. Nicole never gave up, until one day she got the proof she needed.

One night after dinner she was washing the dishes when Darwin walked in with one of his schoolbooks.

"Mrs. Mom, can you help me with my math homework?" he asked, feeling bad for not being able to figure it out himself.

"Darwin, I told you, you can just call me 'mom'." she corrected him, while scrubbing a plate with her sponge. "And I'll help you as soon as I finish washing the dishes."

Darwin turned sighed and returned to the dining room table to try and finish his homework by himself. Nicole continued her task.

"Darwin, it's easy!" she heard her daughter from the other room. "All you have to do is multiply pi by the square of the radius."

Nicole dropped the plate she had in her hands into the sink when she heard that, which resulted in splashing herself and everything around her with foamy dish water. She quickly took off her rubber gloves, ran to the dining room and picked up Darwin's book, analyzing the question he was trying to answer. Her eyes widened as she lowered the book.

"That's correct…" she couldn't believe it. "Anais, how do you know sixth grade math?! You're only three!"

"I read Gumball and Darwin's schoolbooks in my free time." explained little Anais.

"Well, that does explain a lo-YOU CAN READ?!" Nicole was now even more perplexed. "How can you read?!"

"I taught myself how. I'm home all day, I have to entertain myself somehow!"

Nicole couldn't believe her ears. Her three-year-old daughter could read! READ! She returned Darwin his book and ran to the living room to tell her husband what she had heard.

"Richard! You won't believe this!" she was hysterical. "Anais can read!"

"…So?" he didn't get what the big deal was.

"Richard, she's THREE!" his wife insisted.

"…So?" he still didn't get it. Nicole rubbed her temples, trying to keep herself calm.

"Richard, no child is supposed to know how to read at age three!"

"…What are you saying?" he STILL didn't get it. Nicole grabbed him by the shirt collar, now completely enraged.

"I'M SAYING SHE'S GIFTED, DARN IT!" she spat onto his face. "Don't you get it?! Our daughter knows things she was only supposed to know in about five years!"

"OK! OK! Calm down." he tried to soothe her. She threw him back onto the couch and sat beside him, still angry. "So what do you want to do about it?"

"We need a confirmation. Nobody's going to believe me if I tell them my daughter reads at age three." she thought for a minute. "We could take her to a psychologist!"

"I don't know any psychologists. Do you?"

"No…" then she remembered something. "But I know the next best thing!"

* * *

The next morning Nicole and Richard were sitting in the hallway of Elmore Junior High, right outside the school counselor's office, with little Anais sitting on Nicole's lap.

"I hate this place… It gives me the creeps!" complained Richard, remembering what he had been through in junior high.

"It's amazing! It hasn't changed a bit…" noticed Nicole, looking around.

"Mom, why are we here?" asked Anais.

"We're here to see an old friend who can tell us just how gifted you really are." Nicole answered, playfully poking her daughter's nose.

"Why?" she didn't understand why that was really necessary.

"Because your mom will go crazy if you're not!" Richard told his daughter teasingly. Nicole frowned at him.

"Richard…" she threatened.

"I knew I recognized those voices!"

The three turned to their left to see a tall, fluffy cloud-like creature standing right next to them. He wore a rainbow-patterned shirt, black bellbottoms, and blue and yellow sandals. White fluff covered almost all of his body, but it was more plentiful on his forearms, feet, and head. He had a small ponytail to keep his hair tied back and his eyes were round and colored olive green with red pupils, resembling a green olive. He looked at them with a warm smile on his lips.

"If it isn't my good old friends, Nicole and Richard." He gave them both a friendly hug.

"How have you been, Steve? It feels like forever since we've seen each other!" remarked Nicole.

"Ever since your wedding! Although I have been seeing a lot of your sons, Gumball and Darwin. They're sent to my office pretty often." He then noticed Anais, who was staring at him curiously. He knelt down to her size and gave her a friendly grin. "And who's this little cutie?"

"This is our daughter, Anais." Nicole replied, placing her hand on her little girl's head. "She's actually the reason why we came to see you. We have reasons to believe her level of intelligence is highly above what would be normal at her age, and we were hoping you could confirm this, since you majored in Child Psychology, and all."

"I see…" he gave Nicole a nod and turned back to Anais. "And just how old are you, sweetheart?"

"I'm three and a half, and I would appreciate it if you would stop treating me like a baby." Anais replied with a frown. The cloud man backed up an inch, surprised.

"Hum… I think you might be onto something." He told Nicole as he got up. "Come into my office so I can analyze her further."

He opened his office door and directed the three to his desk. It had two chairs in front of it and Nicole and Richard took both seats, with Anais sitting on Nicole's lap again. Steve sat on his own chair and folded his hands on his desk. Nicole explained to him what she had witnessed that made her think her daughter was gifted and he seemed quite impressed.

"Really? Reading? At such tender age?" he asked, incredulous. Nicole nodded. He looked over at Anais again. "So tell me, Anais, what do you like to read?"

"Mostly Charles Dickens." She replied. "I also like to read my brothers' schoolbooks."

"I see…" he turned back to Nicole. "I for one wouldn't need any more proof, but I'm required to apply some tests that will determine little Anais' level of intelligence." He opened his desk drawer and took out a sheet of paper with several questions on it. "Now, Anais, I'm going to ask a few questions, OK?"

"OK." she focused her attention on the man in front of her.

"OK, let's see…" he read the sheet in his hands. "If I have ten oranges, and give a friend four, how many oranges do I have left?"

"Six."

"Very good… Now let's imagine I have three slices of cake, and want to divide it with another friend. How many slices do we each get?"

"One and a half."

"Excellent!" he chose another question from the list. "Who do you prefer to spend time with, your brothers or your parents?"

"My parents, especially my mom. My brothers are dumb."

"I'm impressed…" he rubbed his chin. "OK, one last question: can you recite a passage from your favorite book?" Anais cleared her throat.

"'Let the tears which fell, and the broken words which were exchanged in the long close embrace between the orphans, be sacred. A father, sister, and mother, were gained, and lost, in that one moment. Joy and grief were mingled in the cup; but there were no bitter tears: for even grief arose so softened, and clothed in such sweet and tender recollections, that it became a solemn pleasure, and lost all character of pain.'" When Anais finished everyone in the room had their mouths open. "…What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, quite the contrary, actually." Said Steve, trying to believe what he had just heard. "Nicole, Richard…" he turned to two parents with a big smile across his face. "…I am happy to announce that your daughter is gifted. She's the brightest child I've ever seen." Nicole hugged her daughter tight and Richard patted her head. "In fact, she's so bright I think she should start school right away!" Nicole's heart sunk.

"Right away?! But she's only three!" Nicole was starting to panic.

"Three and a half." corrected Anais.

"Nicole, your daughter has the IQ of an eighth-grader." explained Steve. "In fact, I think I can pull some strings to make her start school here after summer!"

"No! She's too young!" Nicole held her daughter tighter against her chest, feeling tears start to rise.

"Mom, look…" Anais pushed herself away from her mother and looked her right in the eyes. "This is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. I'm stuck at home all, most of the times bored to tears. Besides, it'll be a chance to expand my knowledge. Gumball and Darwin's books are so full of wrong answers and stupid doodles I actually think they're making me dumber! I really need this." Nicole had no idea how to respond to such a well-though-out line of reasoning.

"Are you sure this what you want, honey?" she asked, secretly hoping she would change her mind at the last minute.

"Yes, mom. I'm sure." her daughter replied with certainty. Nicole sighed in defeat.

"OK… If that's what you really want…" her voice cracked due to the lump that was forming in her throat. She wiped her eyes and tried to smile like she meant it. "Steve, thank you so much for this." she thanked her old friend.

"It was my pleasure." he patted Anais' head. "I look forward to give you some counseling." he told the little bunny, who smiled at him.

As they drove back home Nicole didn't speak. She was still trying to process what she had heard.

Her three-year-old daughter was going to start junior high.


	8. The Conclusion

Summer came and summer went, and it was time for all the students to go back to school. As Nicole drove her three kids to Elmore Junior High she remained silent, slowly trying to accept the fact that she was going to go through the whole process of leaving one of her offspring at school for their first day again. She knew this day had to come sooner or later, but never this soon.

She had spent the whole summer thinking about what Steve had said. She wasn't ready to lose her daughter so soon. It wasn't even supposed to happen this soon. For days she hoped that he would fail at enrolling such a young child in junior high, but one morning her whole world fell apart when she got a call from him saying that she had been accepted. Her daughter was exhilarated to hear that, but Nicole felt completely miserable. Now there was no turning back, and she had to go through with it.

"You're gonna love junior high, Anais!" Darwin told his little sister happily. "It's really fun!"

"And dangerous!" added Gumball, trying to scare is younger sibling. "Especially for little girls like you! So just hang with me, and you'll be fine." he pointed at himself, sticking out his chest and grinning as if he was a superhero. Anais lifted an eyebrow at him.

"I think I'll be fine on my own, thanks." she replied with a chuckle. He frowned at her, feeling offended.

Nicole smiled to herself, thinking about how mature her daughter was. Gumball and Darwin were now twelve and ten, respectively, and Anais was four, yet she outwitted her brothers in every mental challenge with such ease it was amazing.

When they arrived at Elmore Junior High Nicole felt like she had a void in her heart, but acted as if everything was OK.

"And don't forget to listen to everything your teacher tells you." she told her daughter, whilst fixing her clothes. "Don't talk to strangers, chew you food, and-"

"Mom, stop! Your acting crazy!" her daughter complained, due to the fact that Nicole was almost knotting her ears together because of her nerves. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. It's just I'm not ready to give you up to the world just yet. It was hard enough for me when your brothers started school, and now I'm losing you…" she explained, the sadness seeking in.

"I get how you feel, mom, but you need to understand that you're not losing me, or anyone else. This is just a natural process of life, and until you grasp that you'll never find happiness… no matter how many kids you have."

Nicole was stunned. Her daughter was right. She had gotten herself into a vicious circle and she needed to get out of it. It wasn't up to her, it was just how life went… and there was nothing she could do about it.

Her epiphany was interrupted by the sound of the school bell ringing.

"Oh no, Miss Simian's gonna be peeved!" Darwin exclaimed. "Come on!"

He and Gumball scurried inside, and Nicole was about to get up, thinking her daughter would do the same, but instead her little bunny gave her a warm hug.

"I love you, mom." she whispered to her parent. Nicole felt her eyes tear up as she returned the hug.

"I love you too, sweetie." she held her in a tight hug for a few seconds.

They waved at each other as the four-year-old entered the building. What before were tears of sadness turned into tears of pride, as Nicole saw her little prodigy start her academic route.

Nicole decided to take the rest of the day off, so she went home to her husband, who was playing the kids' videogames. When she arrived he greeted her without taking his eyes off the screen. Nicole sat next to Richard, with doubt on her mind.

"Richard…" she started, gazing at her feet. "…Are you happy?"

"'Course him happy!" he replied, keeping his focus on the game in front of him.

"No, I mean… are you happy with your life?" she looked over at him. The rabbit, realizing she was serious, hit 'pause' on the game controller and focused his attention on her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when we first met as kids, I would never have guessed we would end up spending our lives together. And now that we are… we have three kids, one of which is a genius, starting junior high at age four. We have a good home, I have a steady job… I have everything I've ever wanted, plus someone to share it with." she smiled at her husband, who returned the smile, but then her expression turned serious again. "I just wondered… if you ever thought we'd end up here… together…"

"Nicole, do you remember what I told you on prom night when I was at the infirmary?" he asked with a smirk. Nicole smiled as her memory went back to that day.

"About how you loved me since the day we met?" she unknowingly blushed with that thought. Richard nodded.

"The day we met I made you a promise, a promise I never intend to brake." he stuck out his pinky to remind her. Nicole smiled like she hadn't smiled in a long time, remembering the day when they became friends. She crossed her pinky with his, the warmth of his finger the same as when they were twelve.

"Best friends forever?" he asked her, in a slightly mocking tone. She moved closer and pressed her lips against his, keeping their pinkies crossed. A second afterwards she pulled back and stared lovingly into his eyes.

"Best friends forever."


End file.
